{"id":406565,"date":"2026-09-21T21:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T21:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/406565\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T21:34:12","slug":"usf-st-petersburg-launches-four-year-nursing-degree-to-address-healthcare-worker-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/406565\/","title":{"rendered":"USF St. Petersburg Launches Four-Year Nursing Degree To Address Healthcare Worker Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg welcomed 60 students into its first traditional four-year nursing degree program this fall. High school graduates can now enroll straight into the Freshman Nursing Pathway and work toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. No other degree is required first.<\/p>\n

Each year, the program will provide up to 70 upper-division nursing seats. In the first two years students tackle general education courses and prerequisites. Then comes clinical training.<\/p>\n

According to the St. Pete Catalyst<\/a>, this addition grows a program that’s been running at the St. Petersburg campus since 2019, though it used to serve students who already had bachelor’s degrees. The new pathway opens another door \u2014 students can start fresh instead of waiting until after they’ve earned a previous degree.<\/p>\n

Since 2022, Florida has poured more than $485 million into nursing education through two state programs, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. One initiative, called the Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) program, rewards schools based on how many students graduate and how well they perform on licensure exams.<\/p>\n

This year’s state budget allocated $1.62 million in PIPELINE funding for Pinellas County technical career programs and close to $2 million for St. Petersburg College. The state built PIPELINE alongside the Linking Industry to Nursing Education program, which matches contributions from healthcare providers to help schools grow enrollment and bring in faculty.<\/p>\n

USF St. Petersburg teamed up with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital through the LINE program. That partnership brought in nearly $858,000 for scholarships and faculty support, plus specialty training opportunities at the hospital.<\/p>\n

Two nursing simulation laboratories sit inside the Children’s Research Institute, giving students access to hands-on practice. The labs hold 10 hospital beds and equipment that allows students to rehearse procedures \u2014 IV insertion, airway management, wound care \u2014 before they ever touch a patient.<\/p>\n

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital are both located within the surrounding medical district, offering students convenient spots for clinical training.<\/p>\n

In 2022, local leaders and campus officials began talks about a bigger joint nursing pipeline with St. Petersburg College. Officials pinpointed faculty shortages, limited clinical placements, and accreditation requirements as obstacles to expanding enrollment.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers have connected nursing education dollars to measurable outcomes like graduation rates and licensure rates. Students must meet academic requirements and pass the National Council Licensure Examination after graduation to become registered nurses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of South Florida St. Petersburg welcomed 60 students into its first traditional four-year nursing degree program…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[113,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,3650],"class_list":["post-406565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-education","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa","tag-university-of-south-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}